5. Russia’s wonders

An alternative Seven Wonders of the World could easily be unearthed on Russia’s territory, if only you were willing to dig them out.

Considered the heart of Russia, Moscow is described as a place where ancient Russia meets the Soviet Union and capitalism – illustrated by the golden onion domes of the Kremlin’s Orthodox churches, which look out past Lenin’s mausoleum and over massive GUM shopping complex.

The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It has more historic associations than any other place in Moscow. Since the time of Ivan III (15^th century) this square has been the scene of great public events, mainly political –rallies, demonstrations, processions.

In early times, Red Square was also a place of execution. Its name does not, however, come from the blood which has been split here. In old Slavonic “krasny” meant “red”, also meant “beautiful”, since red was regarded as a particular beautiful colour.

The Moscow Kremlin and St.Basil’s Cathedral are masterpieces of Russian architecture. The cathedral is the final expression of pure Russian architectural fantasy in which Byzantine elements detached from their original meaning, were multiplied in unbelievable extravagance. It was built in the mid-16^th century in the memory of the victory over Kazan. There is a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnik, because he didn’t want them to create another masterpiece.

The building of the Bolshoi Theatre dominates one of the most beautiful squares of the Moscow Centre – Theatre Square. This building is a masterpiece of Russian Classicism in architecture. The eight-column portal is surmounted by a chariot driven by Apollo, Patron of the Arts. The theatre, designed by the Russian architect Bove and built in 1824, was rebuilt by architect Kavoss after the fire of 1853.

The performance of the “Giselle” ballet by Adan in 1843, two years after its premiere in Paris, became a major event in the theatrical life of Russia. From that moment on, “Giselle” has never left the stage.

The Bolshoi Theatre has gained world fame thanks to its first-rate school of ballet. Among the greatest ballerinas are Olga Lepeshinskaya, Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, and Ekaterina Maksimova, who danced there. The timeless ballets – “The Sleeping Beauty”, “The Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker” – have become the Golden Fund of the Bolshoi Theatre. Indeed, they have gained universal popularity.

For more than two centuries the Bolshoi Theatre has been attracting new music and ballet lovers.

The Golden Ring is a group of towns and cities – including Suzdal, Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma and others. They offer a host of restored and abandoned churches, monasteries and fortresses, rich museums and preserved wooden villages.

For those seeking a natural high, Russia’s best attractions may be the Altai and Caucasus mountains.

St. Petersburg is considered to be a more European capital than Moscow. The creation of Peter the Great, it is best known for its 18^th - and 19^th –century palaces; the Peter and Paul fortress, the Hermitage Museum, and the White Nights.

St. Isaac’s Cathedral was originally the city’s main church and the largest cathedral in Russia. It was built between 1818 and 1859, by the French-born architect Montferrand, to be one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac’s still dominates the skyline of St. Peterburg.

The cathedral’s facades are decorated with sculptures and massive granite columns (made of single pieces of red granite), while the interior is adorned with incredibly detailed mosaic icons, paintings and columns made of malachite and lapis lazuli. The church, designed to accommodate 14,000 standing worshipers, was closed in the early 1930s and reopened as a museum. Today, church services are held here only on major ecclesiastical occasions.

Task I. Answer the questions.

1. What are your favourite sights of Moscow and St. Petersburg?

2. Where do you like it better: in St. Petersburg or in Moscow?

3. What is your home-town like?

4. Write about the things you like and dislike in your home-town?

The world famous Yekaterininsky Palace located in the town of Pushkin, south of St. Petersburg, originally housed the Amber Room. A bright yellow semiprecious stone, amber is fossilized pine residue that dates back between forty million and sixty million years. The amber used for the room came from Western Russia’s Kaliningrad region – formerly part of East Prussia – which is home of ninety percent of the world’s amber reserves. The amount of high-quality amber makes the Amber Room unique. It is the largest piece of jewelry in the world. Every detail is done with minute precision.

The room was made of a series of oak wall panels, which covered more than a hundred square metres and were inlaid with six tons of the highest quality amber, long wall mirrors and four Italian mosaics manufactured of various precious and semiprecious stones. The intricately crafted room that dazzled as sunlight hit the mirrors and jewels has been called “the Eighth Wonder of the World.”

German craftsmen created the Amber Room for Prussian King Friedrich I’s palace. The room made its way to Russia in 1716 as a gift from King Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter the Great who repeatedly expressed awe over the room while a guest of the Prussian ruler.

When Nazi troops marched into the Soviet Union in June 1941, special teams of art experts accompanied them. By the end of the war, hundreds of thousands paintings, books and jewels were in the hands of German museums and private collections. Among the looted articles of art was the Amber Room whose traces were found only at the very end of the XXth century.

Valued by German art experts today at 250 million Deutsche marks (142 million dollars), the lost room has given rise to fantastic speculation on its fate. There were more than two hundred theories on where the room was, most of them centred on the city of Kaliningrad – the former Königsberg – where the room was last spotted in 1945.

Task I. Search the text for the English equivalents of the sentences listed below:

1. Янтарная комната была создана немецкими мастерами в начале 17 века для прусского короля Фридриха I.

2. Стены комнаты были сделаны из дуба и инкрустированы янтарем самого высокого качества.

3. Вскоре после её создания, янтарная комната, в качестве подарка Петру I, была перевезена в Россию.

4. Во время Второй мировой войны сотни тысяч произведений искусства оказались в руках нацистов. Среди награбленных ценностей была и янтарная комната.

5. По количеству высококачественного янтаря комната является самым большим произведением ювелирного искусства.

6. Немецкие эксперты оценили стоимость янтарной комнаты в 250 миллионов немецких марок.

Task II. Answer the questions.

1. The Amber Room has been called “The Eighth Wonder of the World”. Do you know the other seven?

2. What do you think of the problem of restitution of looted articles of arts?

The island of Valaam is situated in the northern part of Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe. You can get there by ship or helicopter from St.Petersburg. People have been living on the island for over 1000 years. The monastery on the island was destroyed many times, but was always rebuilt. The monks were very peaceful people, who loved God, nature and mankind. The primary purpose of the monastery was to be a spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy, but it also inspired Russian painters, poets and architects. Until the 20^th century, the island was free of crime and alcohol.

The nature of the island is unique. Although the soil on the island, which was brought from the mainland, is only 20-30centimeters deep, the monks that lived there were able to grow watermelons, and pumpkins, more than 60 types of apples. They even grew melons. There are over 460 different kinds of plants on the island.

Task I. Answer the questions.

1. What is the Valaam Island famous for?

2. How can one get there?

3 What was the primary purpose of the monastery?

4. What did you learn about the nature of the island?